County Hall to turn purple in support of cancer campaign

County Hall will be lit up purple this month, in support of the “Turn it Purple” campaign to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer.

The campaign, run by Pancreatic Cancer Awareness, encourages people to wear purple and light up buildings to promote discussion.

Between 2006 and 2015, 1,590 Lancashire residents died from pancreatic cancer.

This is the third year Lancashire County Council has supported the campaign.

Leader Jennifer Mein said: “We’re pleased to be taking part in this important national campaign once again.

“It’s crucial to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and encourage people to seek medical advice if they’re not well.

“Everyone in Lancashire will know someone who has been affected by cancer in some way.

“Identifying the disease early means you’re much more likely to treat it successfully.

“As people walk past County Hall while it’s lit up, I hope that they’ll be reminded about this as they see the purple lights.

“I’m pleased the county council is able to do its bit to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer.”

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, the county council’s director of public health, said early diagnosis was “crucial”, and said: “Anything we can do to improve the chances of people being diagnosed earlier, such as raising awareness through the Turn it Purple campaign, is very important.”